


Autumn Dreaming :: The Nights Grow Colder

by Nell65



Series: Autumn Dreams [6]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Canon Universe, F/M, Post Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 22:27:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4763342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nell65/pseuds/Nell65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Octavia disapproves. A lot. Bellamy doesn't care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Autumn Dreaming :: The Nights Grow Colder

**Author's Note:**

> I'm totally convincing myself that taking the Mountain for their own is the most sensible, strategic and tactically aggressive thing the Arkers could do. Therefore, I'm also more sure than ever that the show runners won't let them do it.

“How long has that been going on?” Octavia growled low in Monty’s ear, glaring across the evening fire to a couple on the far side.

The Arkers were continuing to make the mountain their own. Outside one of the secondary entrances some enterprising folk had set up a sort of outdoor cantina, selling homebrew booze and grilled snacks to people who weren’t on duty in the evenings. They’d even put up a little stage and ran it basically as an open microphone, though only recorded music was playing at the moment. She and Lincoln had arrived back at the Mountain earlier in the day, summoned by the council to translate for an upcoming summit with Lexa and some of the other clan leaders. They’d been stuck in meetings with Kane ever since. Finally free, they’d heard about the Cantina and had come hoping to find Bellamy there.

He was. But he was most definitely not alone.

Monty offered her a wide, innocent smile. “What been going on?”

Octavia was not amused.

She nodded her head toward the opposite side of the bonfire, especially at the woman draping herself all over her brother. 

Echo. Princess of the Ice Nation. Or at least some sort of ranking member. Important enough that Lexa’s people had brought her along with a handful of others back to Mt. Weather when their own healers hadn’t been able to help them recover from their captivity in at the hands of the Mountain Men. 

They were – in the least surprising development since ever – all suffering from variously severe complications of extreme anemia and dehydration. 

As it happened, she and Lincoln hadn’t been there when Echo and the others arrived. They were still at Camp Jaha with their growing band of recovering former reapers. Without his ability to translate, Echo and the others had to be sedated before they could be hooked up to the IVs and – in deep irony lost on no one – given blood transfusions donated by Arkers. 

“That,” she snarled, gesturing with her chin. “Bellamy and that Ice Nation girl.”

“I’m not sure?” Monty tried.

“Really?”

Monty sighed. “Fine. A while? Ask him – he’s your brother.”

“Fine. I will.”

Unfortunately, Bellamy was even less helpful than Monty, once she’d pried him away from his Ice Nation body leech by dint of catching his eyes and glowering from across the floor. 

“Not really your concern, O,” he said.

She fisted her hands on her hips. “When did you stop concerning yourself about my sex life?”

“Since I realized Lincoln is a great guy with fantastic abs. Who’s nuts about you.”

Octavia’s glance slid toward Lincoln, who was chatting with Monroe and Miller. She smirked a little, feeling proud and possessive and amazed all at once, like she always did when she looked at him. “Yeah. And his abs are fantastic. So is his everything else. I’m nuts about him, too.”

“I know.” Bellamy smiled fondly at her. “How’s the recovery program going?”

Octavia launched into a summary of all they’d accomplished in the month they’d been at Camp Jaha, even waving for Lincoln to come over and help her boast about their efforts. Two men had actually been released to their families now, and she thought more would be ready to go soon.

Unfortunately, Echo arrived hard on Lincoln’s heels. She promptly twined her lanky form all around Bellamy. She put Octavia in mind of some sort of parasitic vine.

Bellamy introduced Octavia as his sister, and Echo warmed slightly. Even unwrapping herself enough to stand on her own two feet and offer Octavia her hand. Octavia was slow to take it, until she felt Lincoln nudge her, clearing his throat quietly and otherwise urging her to be polite. She shook Echo’s hand and smiled through her teeth. “Nice to meet you. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Thank you. I’ve heard so much about you and I’m happy to finally meet Bellamy’s famous sister.” Echo said with an equally toothy smile. Her voice was low and pleasant, and her English was quite good. She also seemed sincere enough.

Octavia wanted to continue to dislike her, but found it suddenly uncomfortable. They’d all been fucked over by the Mountain Men. One way or another. She nodded. “Likewise. Listen, I need to chat with Bellamy privately, for just a few minutes.” She wrapped her fingers in Bellamy’s sleeve. “We’ll be right back.” And she towed him away.

“Spill,” she ordered, as soon as they were separated by enough people that they could pretend to privacy. “How long has this been going on?”

Bellamy crossed his arms and stared thoughtfully at her. Finally he said, “Almost as soon as they let her out of medical. I’d been visiting, just to check on her and the others. They were pretty freaked at first to be back in a modern clinic. I was a familiar face. Helped smooth things. She showed up at my quarters her first night out. I said I was very flattered, but it wasn’t necessary and tried to shut the door. She…. persuaded me not too.”

“How?”

“She has nightmares about being hung upside down and bled. I know what she’s talking about. About being poked and prodded. Striped naked. Touched while you’re asleep. About wearing a collar and chains. About cages swinging from the ceiling. It’s good to be reminded you’re not there anymore. That you’re not alone in the night.”

“Oh.” Octavia felt a ginormous stab of guilt. “I didn’t think.”

“We all have our stories, O.”

“Is she nice?”

“I don’t know. Not really?”

Octavia’s faint willingness to be positive about Echo vanished. “What the hell does that mean?

“It means that I don’t know. I’m out on patrol all day. I don’t know what she does. We don’t talk. We fuck at night because we don’t want to dream. We sleep together so we don’t bother anyone else. Other than that, I don’t think we have all that much in common.” 

And now she felt sorry for Echo because her brother was such an ass. “You and Echo are hardly the only ones who had a rough time at the hands of the Mountain Men. If you’re both looking to get through the night, maybe a bigger support group could help all of you.”

“We fit each other right now. That’s all I need. Leave it alone.”

“I thought…” Octavia trailed off, frowning.

“Yeah?”

“I thought you were beginning to fit with Clarke?” she let her voice lift at the end, hesitant and gentle.

Bellamy’s face closed off. His voice was flat and faintly angry and he didn’t look at her. “Clarke obviously didn’t think so.”

Octavia bit down hard to keep her words in check. Clarke Griffin had rammed her head so far up her own ass because she thought her own shit smelled better than everyone else’s. Yeah, Clarke'd been through a lot. But so had every fucking one of them. Including Clarke's own mother. But Clarke walked away. She abandoned Bellamy, who'd gone inside the mountain for her. Who blamed himself for not being able to save the Mountain Men's kids, for the death of Maya and her family and friends who had helped hide them all. People he knew and liked and trusted. And killed. Trading their lives for the lives of forty odd stupid delinquents he'd decided he was responsible for. Even Clarke stupid Griffin. Octavia touched Bellamy’s arm. “She’ll be back. Give her some time.”

He flinched away from her. “Clarke isn’t here. Echo is. End of Story.”


End file.
